Greek Lentil Salad with Pasta

I love this salad! It is so fresh and delicious, and the nutritional stats are awesome. It is high in fiber and protein and has good amounts of vitamins and minerals. I love having a dish like this on hand for when hunger strikes. I am pretty sure that if greek salad had a cool cousin from out of town, it would be this salad. It's just got that kind of presence.

Greek Lentil Salad

Ingredients:

3 oz small pasta, cooked and cooled to equal about 3 cups cooked pasta (I used ditalini, small shells would be great, too)

1 cup lentils
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bay leaf

4 oz extra firm tofu, drained and crumbled (1/4th package tofu)
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp oregano
3 tsp basil, or 3 tbsp fresh basil (fresh is really good in this dish so go for it if you can find some)

2 tbsp small dice red onion
3/4 cup diced bell pepper (the red or yellow are yummy)
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh spinach
1 tbsp capers

Directions:

This recipe has 3 main steps to it: cook the lentils and the pasta, make the tofu feta, and assemble the ingredients.

Put the lentils, garlic and bay leaf in a pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and lower the heat to a simmer. Cook the lentils over low heat for 30-40 minutes until cooked through, but not mushy. When they are done, drain the lentils and discard the bay leaf. Let the lentils cool.

Drain and crumble the tofu into a dish and cover with the olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, oregano, and basil. Stir well and let marinate in the refrigerator.

Add the pasta to the tofu mixture and stir to coat. Add the cooled and drained lentils, and all the veggies. Let chill and serve with more chopped fresh basil.

For 6 servings: nutritional information from caloriecount.about.com

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 104 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories  217 Calories from Fat  56

% Daily Value*

Total Fat  6.2g 10%

Saturated Fat  0.9g 5%

Trans Fat  0.0g

Cholesterol  10mg 3%

Sodium  445mg 19%

Potassium  444mg 13%

Total Carbohydrates  29.0g 10%

Dietary Fiber  10.5g 42%

Sugars  1.5g

Protein  11.9g

Vitamin A 23% • Vitamin C 32% Calcium 7% • Iron 20%

Nutrition Grade A

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet